Spending more time indoors? Whether it’s due to poor weather, seasonal slumps, or health or mobility changes, staying active indoors doesn’t have to be boring. Engaging in interesting indoor pastimes is important for everyone, especially for older adults seeking to enrich and enliven their well-being.
Keeping your mind occupied and your spirits high will repay you in many ways. Mentally energizing, physically engaging, and emotionally satisfying, indoor activities for seniors can be just as uplifting and fun as those reserved for the outdoors.
Watching TV is fine, but if you’re looking for something a little more stimulating and rewarding, or if you want to learn something new, check out the ten best indoor activities for bored seniors while you’re beating the heat inside or recuperating at home.
Get Into Board, Card, and Word Games for Seniors
One of the most popular activities for seniors at home, board games come in a broad variety and can help seniors stay connected with others. In addition to classic games such as chess, checkers, or Monopoly, there are an endless number of exciting board games that can suit nearly any mood. Looking for a laugh? Try playing The Cranium Game, Exploding Kittens, Apples to Apples, or Telestrations. Want to get into a little espionage with your friends? Spy Alley and Code Names both depend on your strategic abilities.
Explore New Senior Fitness Activities
When it comes to fitness activities for older adults, staying indoors doesn’t have to prevent you from keeping up with your workouts. Indoor exercises for seniors can be tailored to your environment and physical abilities, meaning that seniors can engage in wellness activities indoors at any level.
Among the most relaxing indoor activities for seniors, yoga is an easy way to maintain mental and physical wellness indoors. If you’re curious about the benefits of yoga, you can begin by learning about these seven yoga poses for seniors that provide low-impact, highly valuable exercise. Other low-impact fitness activities include chair exercises and chair yoga for seniors, which can help with overall balance and functional mobility.
Try Your Hand at Online Games for Seniors
Whether you’re looking for games for seniors to play alone, want a way to connect with friends in other locations, or simply need a new hobby, online games are an excellent way for seniors to spend their time indoors. Often, these virtual games and activities online can lead to new friendships with others who enjoy similar pursuits. Thanks to modern technology, seniors can enjoy virtual bingo, online chess tournaments, or even immersive storytelling games from the comfort of their own homes.
Get to Know Your Family Tree
Online activities for seniors aren’t limited to games. Seniors who find themselves with a little extra time indoors may want to consider genealogy research as an interesting new hobby. There are many free, helpful tools available online, such as the National Archives. There are also paid services such as MyHeritage.com, and you can even explore your origins at the DNA level with a test kit from AncestryDNA. No matter which route you go, diving into your history through genealogy is an exciting way to learn more about who you are.
Start an Indoor Garden
Did you know you can grow plants of all kinds — even tomatoes — indoors on a table or windowsill? Some low-maintenance, indoor-friendly options include peas, green beans, peppers, and strawberries — all small enough to garden indoors and reward you with time well spent and tasty nutrients. The best part? Your fresh produce and herbs can be used to create a phenomenal dinner for yourself, family, or friends.
Discover the Variety of Craft Activities for Seniors
From maintaining fine motor skills to embracing self-expression and creativity, arts and crafts for seniors is a fun, versatile indoor activity that can help fight boredom. Perfect with friends or on your own, some examples of indoor art projects for seniors include the following:
- Making jewelry
- Making candles
- Weaving, knitting, macrame, and crochet
- Painting
- Pottery
- Scrapbooking
- Origami
- Sculpting
- Woodworking
- Embroidery
- Sketching
Learn a New Language
All it takes is time and practice. But the hours you commit are worth the investment. Here are six of the best language-learning apps you can try while you’re at home: Rosetta Stone, Babbel, Duolingo, Drops, Memrise, and Busuu.
Learn a New Instrument
Guitar, piano, violin, trombone – seniors with musical inclinations have a broad selection of instruments they can learn while spending time indoors. Whether you’re picking up the basics from online tutorials or able to take in-person lessons from a friend or at your senior living community, having extra time indoors can mean more freedom to hone your musical chops.
Write Your Life Story
There may be no more meaningful indoor activity for older adults than capturing their own unique narrative, either in written form or by gathering photos and mementos in a scrapbook. You’ll have the chance to reflect on your own life experience, and you’ll be preserving a slice of history for your family and future descendants. Not sure where to start? Products like the StoryWorth program provide prompts that help you turn your memories into a beautiful hardcover book.
Visit the Top Museums and Galleries — Virtually.
UT’s Blanton Museum holds the largest public collection in Central Texas with some 19,000 objects. Recognized as the home of Ellsworth Kelly’s “Austin,” the museum’s collections focus on modern and contemporary American and Latin American art, Italian Renaissance, and Baroque paintings, as well as drawings and prints. Explore it all from home right here.
The Bullock Texas State History Museum lets you continue to learn and explore through its digital Artifact Gallery. Search the database for everything that’s helped define Texas, and read in-depth Artifact Spotlight stories on historical clothing and dress, artworks and maps, sporting equipment, journals, and more.
Embracing Aging. Celebrating You.
There are always interesting, rewarding activities for seniors to make the most of their time — indoors and out. Choosing to live in a luxury senior living community like Querencia at Barton Creek helps give you the tools you need to pursue your every passion. This beautiful community offers a culture of wellness with innumerable options to lead a healthy, stress-free lifestyle and is among the most celebrated senior living communities in Austin, Texas.
Contact us through our website, or by calling 1.888.607.5995, to discover all the ways living at Querencia can elevate your lifestyle.
